Steam joint



Oct. 17, 1950 R. CARPENTER STEAM JOINT 2 Sheets-Shed: 1

Filed July 2, 1948 M .3 M v nw h a g N a m2. 3 mm w w aw 2.. R. @di 30 a m g on v mm .QW @v d 1 l rum fiw a Z R &

mvnn'on R- CARPENTER Oct. 17, 1950 R. CARPENTER STEAM JOINT 2 Sheets-Shegt 2.

Filed July 2, 1948 'mvnn m R. CARPENTE Patented Oct. 17, 1950 STEAM JOINT Russell Carpenter, Three Rivers, Quebec, Canada Application July 2, 1948, Serial No. 36,747

7 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved steam joint assembly of the type including a steam supply pipe through which steam is supplied to the interior of a rotating cylinder and a siphon pipe through which condensate is removed from the cylinder.

In the ordinary steam joint of the type to which the present invention relates, the siphon pipe assembly is such that the placement and removal thereof requires the presence of a workman within the steam heated cylinder. This is not only inconvenient but is also hazardous due to the danger of the steam being accidently supplied to the cylinder while the workman is still within the cylinder.

With the foregoing in mind, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved steam joint of the siphon pipe type in which the siphon pipe assembly is designed so that the placement and removal of this assembly may be completely accomplished by workmen located outside the cylinder.

Other objects, advantages, and characteristic features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevational view of my improved steam joint shown applied to a conventional type of steam heated cylinder such as one of the dryer cylinders of the dryer section of a paper-making machine. 1

Figure 2 is an elevational view of the right hand end of the steam joint assembly shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged view, partly in vertical longitudinal section and partly in elevation of the component parts ofthat portion of the steam joint assembly which is located outside the steam heated cylinder.

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal sectional View of the component parts of that portion of the steamjoint assembly which is located Within the steam heated cylinder.

Figure 5 is an end View looking toward the right hand end of the assembly shown in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is an end View looking toward the left hand end of the assembly shown in Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a, sectional view taken substantially along the section line 1-1 of Figure 4.

In these drawings, my improved steam joint,

assembly is generally indicated at 5 and is shown applied to a hollow steam heated cylinder 6 havi he 1 13 of. Y

hollow journal i at each end there-' 6 The joint assembly5 includes a hollow tubular member 8' open at both ends and provided, at one end, with a flange 9 which is fastened by stud bolts [0 and nuts I! to the end of the journal 1. Member 8 extends through and is rotatably journalled in a stationary bearing housing l2 provided, at the end nearest journal I, with a removable end Wall l3 bolted in place as indicated at [4. Wall i3 is provided with a, central opening I5 for the passage of member 8 and this 7 opening is preferably sealed against leakage by a sealing ring l6 held in place by an annular sealing ring retaining plate ll detachably secured to wall l3 by fastening screws Ila.

The opposite end of bearing housing 12 is provided with an integral end wall l8 having a central opening l9 through which the freeend of member 8 extends. Opening sealed against leakage by a sealing ring 2! held in place by a, sealing ring retaining plate 22 de- Member 8 is journalled in bearing housing l2 by two anti-friction bearings 25 and 26. These bearings are separated from each other by an interposed spacer sleeve 21 encircling member 8. Bearing 25 is arranged immediately adjacent the end wall I3 of bearing housing l2 and bears against a shoulder 28 of member B. Bearing 26 is arranged immediately adjacent end wall l8 of housing 12 and is engaged by a clamping nut 29 which is in screw-threaded engagement with member 8. The complete bearing assembly,

including bearings 25 and 26 and spacer sleeve 21, is clamped in place between the shoulder 28 of member 8 and the clamping nut 29. If desired, awasheror wear plate 30 may be intergc' posed between the inner race of bearing 26 and the clamping nut 29.

The space between bearings 25 and 23 affords a lubricant reservoir 32 and is provided with a filling plug 33 and a drain plug 34.

Bearing housing I2 is provided with upper and lower arms 36 projectin beyond the end wall l8. bolts 31 and nuts 38, to the flange 39 of a stuffing" box 40 formed integral with a hollow stationary casting M; The free end of member 8 is rotatably fitted in stuffing box 40 which is sealed This packing surrounds member 8 and iscompressed between the closed end 43 of the stufiing box and an ad justable gland nut 44 which is a sliding fit on member 8 and extends into the open end of the I stuifing box. The gland nut 44 may be tightened i9 is preferably tachably secured to Wall I 8 by fastening screws" These arms 36 are detachably secured, by

against the packing 42 by any suitable gland nut adjusting means. In the present instance, I have shown a pair of adjusting bolts 99,. each passing through a stufling box lug ii and a gland nut lug 48 and having adjusting nuts 99 screwed onto its end.

A partition divides the interior of casting 4| into a steam chamber 52 and a condensatereceiving chamber 53. Steam supplied to chamber 52 is delivered to the interior of the steam heated cylinder 6 through a steam delivery pipe 54 having its outer end screwed into a threaded opening 55 provided in a wall 58 which forms the closed end of stufiin box 49. The steam pipe 54 extends inwardly through member 8 and journal 'l in spaced relation thereto. 7

Condensate is removed from cylinder 6 by a siphon assembly including a siphon pipe 59 ex tending inwardly through steam pipe54 in spaced relation thereto. A sleeve 69 is welded onto the outer end of siphon pipe 59 and is slidably fitted in a non-threaded opening 6| provided in partition wall 5I separating steam chamber 52 from condensate-receiving chamber 53. Nuts 83 and 64 are screwed onto the ends of sleeve 69 and are tightened against opposite sides of partition wall 62. The outer end of sleeve '59 projects beyond nut 64 and is provided with slots 65. These slots receive therein lu s 69 projecting inwardly from a siphon pipe adjusting plate 67 adiustably bolted in place over an opening 98 provided in the outer wall 69 of condensate-receiving chamber 53. Plate 6! is provided with arcuate slots H for the passage of studs 13 projecting from Wall 69.

Clamping nuts 14 are screwed onto the outer ends of studs l3 and serve to hold plate 6? in any position to which it is turned. When nuts 14 are loosened, the slots H permit plate 6'! to be turned in either direction to thereby rotate siphon pipe 59 to a desired angular position through the agency of the lugs 56 engaging in the slots 65.

The outer end of siphon pipe 59 is screwed into a threaded opening 16 provided in a hollow ball member I7. A second siphon pipe 19 is arranged radially in cylinder 6 with its lower end positioned adjacent the circumferential wa l of said cylinder and its upper end screwed into a coupling nipple 89 extending downwardly from a second opening 8| provided in the hollow ball member 11. The ball member T! is supported in a sectional ball socket 82 carried by supporting arms 83 formed integral with a collar 84 rotatably mounted on the inner end of the steam supply pipe 54. As here shown, the collar 84 is rotatably mounted on a sleeve 85 welded to the inner end of the steam pipe. A pair of axially projecting stop lugs 86 are formed integral with the outer end of collar 84 and work in arcuate slots 81 provided in a flange 88 formed integral with the outer end of sleeve 85. The collar 84 and sleeve 85 are secured against relative longitudinal movement by means of studs 89 screwed into sleeve 85 and Working in arcuate SlOts 99 provided in collar 84. The inner ends of pipe 54 and sleeve 85 are bevelled as indicated at 9| and engage a similarly bevelled surface 92 of a flange 93 extending inwardly from collar 84.

The sectional ball socket 82 comprises a socket section 95 formed integral with the supporting arms 83 and a second socket section 96 which is detachably secured to the socket section 95 by bolts 91. The two socket sections 95 and 96 are slotted to conjointly provide a slot 98 having flat side walls 99 and a flat lower end wall I00. The inner portion of the coupling nipple 89 of ball 79 is formed with two flat sides I92 which bear against the flat sides 99 of slot 98 and with a third flat side I93 which bears against the end wall I99 of slot 98 when the siphon pipes 59 and I9, and the ball TI are disposed in the position shown in the drawings. The outer portion 239 of nipple which lies beyond the slot 98 is of circular form and is internally threaded to receive therein the threaded upper end of siphon pipe 39.

The section of ball socket 92 is provided with an opening I95 through which the outer end of siphon pipes 59 is passed into screw-threaded engagement with the opening 76 of ball member H. When the steam joint is in use the compo nent parts of the siphon assembly are arranged as shown in the drawings. The siphon pipes 59 and 79 being disposed substantially at right angles to each other with the opening 78 of ball member 11 aligned with the opening I05 of socket section 95 and with the flat-sided portion of the coupling nipple 89 arranged so that its flat side i9 3 bears against the end wall I99 of slot 98. In this position of the parts, it will be seen that portions of the flat sides I02 of coupling nipple 80 bear r against the fiat sides 99 of that portion of slot 98 which is formed in the socket section 95.

It will thus be seen that with the parts of the siphon assembly arranged as shown in the drawings, rotation of the ball member TI and the coupling member 89 in either direction around the central axis of siphon pipe 59 will be resisted mainly by the socket section 95, the supporting arms 83 and the collar 84. This is an important feature since it is undesirable that any torque tending to turn the ball member I7 and nipple 89 about the central axis of siphon pipe 19 should be resisted solely by the removable socliet section 96 and its fastening bolts 9'1. If the ortion of ni ple 80 working in slot 98 were circular, there would be only line contact between this portion of the nipple and the flat sides 99 of the slot. If, in these circumstances, the nipple 80 should not be drawn tightly against the end IUI of slot 98, it is possible that the line contact between the nipple and the sides of the slot would be in that portion of the slot formed in the socket section 99 with the result that any force tending to turn the ball I! about .the axis of pipe 19 would be turned solely by the socket section 98 and might result in shearing of the bolts 91. This is obviated by providing the nipple with the flat sides I02 which ensures contact between these portions of the nipple and the side walls of the portion of the slot 98 formed in the rigidly supported socket section 95 even though the flattened portion of the nipple may not be drawn tightly against the lower end IUI of the slot.

The ball and socket connection provided between the siphon pipes 59 and 19 enables the siphon pipes 19 to be operatively positioned within the cylinder 6 or removed therefrom through the journal 1 by an operator standing outside the cylinder. When the steam joint, including the siphon assembly, is to be removed from the cylinder this is usually accomplished in the following manner:

The siphon pipe 59 is screwed out of the opening 76 of ball member TI and the nuts i i are removed from the studs ll] passing through the flange 9 of member 8. This permits the whole steam joint assembly to be separated from the cylinder 6 by pulling it away from the journal 1. During this movement of the steam joint assembly, the siphon pipe 9 is engaged by the head 6a of cylinder 6 and is caused to swing upwardly withdrawn through the roll' journal 1.: This up" ward swinging movement of pipe leis permitted by reason of the fact that .the balll'l is free to rotate in the socket 532 about a central horizontal axis after the ball has been freed by disengagement of the siphon pipe 19 therefrom. During this movement of the ball 11, the inner portionof the coupling nipple 80 carrying the pipe 19 travels toward the upper end of slot 98.

In some cases it is desirable that,'when the steam joint is in use, the siphon pipe 19 should hang in a vertical position with its lower end spaced above the lowest portion of the circumferential wall 16. In other cases, it is desirable that the siphon pipe be-positioned at an circumferential wall of cylinder 6. This varia tion in the angular positioning of the lower end of siphon pipe 19 with reference to the lowest portion of the circumferential wall of the cylinder 6 is provided for by the manner in which'the collar 84 carrying the ball socket 32 is rotatably mounted on the inner end of steam pipe 5 3. This enables the angular position of the siphon pipe 19 to be changed as desired by rotating the siphon pipe adjusting plate G'Ito turn the siphon pipe 59 to the desired angular positionthrough the engagement of the lugs 56 in the slots 64 provided in sleeves El. This turning movement of siphon pipe 59 results in a corresponding turning movement of the ball ll, siphon pipe 19 and socket 82 about a central axis coinciding with the axis of steam pipe 54. The extent of angular movement thus imparted to the siphon pipe '39 by the turning movement of siphon pipe 59 is limited by the sto lugs 86 of collar 84 which work in slots 8'! in the flange 88 of the collarsupporting sleeve 85.

When the steam joint is being applied to the steam cylinder 6, the siphon pipe 19 is swung into alignment with the steam 'pipe 54 andthese parts are then moved .inwardly through the journal I. As soon as the ball socket 82 clears the inner end of journal l, the siphon pipe l9 drops by gravit to a vertical position in which the openings E6 of the ball member 1! is aligned with the opening I05 of socket member 82. The inner end of the siphon pipe 19 is then passed inwardly through the opening I95 and screwed into the opening 16 of ball member 11. This looks the ball member 11 and the siphon pipe 19 in their operative position and enables the lower end of the siphon pipe 19 to be swung to the correct angular position by turning the siphon pipe 59 through the agency of the siphon pipe adjusting plate 61.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the ball socket 82 constitutes a siphon pipe supporting member to which the siphon pipe is is pivotally secured by means of the ball member El to provide a ball and socket connection affording a horizontal axis about which siphon pipe i9 is swingable to either the dotted or full line position shown in Fig. 1. It is not absolutely essential that the pivotal connection between the collar 84 and the siphon pipe 19 be of the ball and socket type since the same result can be accomplished by various other types of pivotal connections. For example, the ball member H can be replaced by a hollow member of different shape 6. having pivot trunnions supported in suitablebearings carried by the collar 84.

Another feasible modification would be to screw the inner end of the siphon pipe 59 into the open-- ing [65 of socket member 12 instead of into the opening 16 of ball member 11. These and various other modifications are considered to fall within thescope and spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims Having thus described my invention,what I claim is:

1. A siphon assembly for removing condensate from a steam-heated cylinder having an opening at one end, comprising a siphon pipe supporting member insertable in and withdrawable from said cylinder by horizontal movement of said supporting member through said opening, a siphon pipe having one end secured to said supporting member by means afiording a horizontal pivotal axis about which the siphon pipe is swingable to (a) a horizontal position in which the pipe is insertable in or withdrawable from the cylinder with said supporting member, or (b) to an operative position within the cylinder in which the pipe extends downwardly from the pipe supporting member substantially at right angles to the circumferential wall of the cylinder and means for conducting condensate outwardly through said opening from the upper end of said siphon pipe when the latter is disposed in its last mentioned position within the cylinder.

2. In a siphon assembly for removing condensate from a steam-heated cylinder having an opening atone end, a steam supply pipe adapted to be passed into said cylinder through said opening, a siphon pipe supporting member attached to the inner end of the steam supply pipe, a siphon pipe having one end secured tosaid pipe supporting member by means affording a pivotal axis about which the siphon pipe is swingable, said pipe supporting member being rotatably attached to the steam supply pipe by means permitting limited rotation of said pipe supporting member in either direction about a horizontal axis coinciding with the central axis of said steam supply pipe, means for rotating said pipe supporting member in either direction about said last mentioned axis and means for conducting condensate outwardly through said steam supply pipe from the upper end of said siphon pipe when the latter is disposed in its last mentioned operative position within the cylinder.

3. In a siphon assembly for removing condensate from a steam heated cylinder having an opening at one end, a steam supply pipe adapted to be passed horizontally into said cylinder through said opening, a ball socket attached to the inner end of said steam supply pipe, a hollow ball member rotatably mounted in said socket and having condensate inlet and outlet openings whose axes lie substantiall at right angles to each other, said socket member having an opening with which the condensate outlet opening of the hollow ball member is aligned when the latter is in a determined position, an outwardly projecting coupling nipple surrounding the condensate inlet opening of the ball member and arranged to travel in an arcuate slot formed in the ball socket, a siphon pipe having one end secured to said nipple, said slotted ball socket and said hollow ball member conjointly affording a horizontal pivotal axis about which the siphon pipe is swingable to (a) a horizontal position in which the siphon pipe is insertable in and withdrawable from the cylinder with said steam supply pipe or (b) to an operative position within the cylinder in which the siphon pipe extends downwardly from the ball member substantially at right angles to the circumferential wall of the cylinder, and a second siphon pipe having a threaded inner end adapted to be passed inwardly through said steam supply pipe and screwed into the condensate outlet opening of the ball member when the first mentioned siphon pipe is disposed within the cylinder in its aforesaid operative position extending substantially at right angles to the circumferential wall of the cylinder.

4. In a siphon assembly for removing condensate from a steam heated cylinder, having an opening at one end, a steam supply pipe extending into said cylinder through said opening, a collar rotatably mounted on the inner end of said steam supply pipe, a ball socket rigidly secured to 7 said socket and positioned in spaced relation to the inner end of said steam supply pipe, a hollow ball member rotatably mounted in said socket and provided with condensate inlet and outlet openings arranged so that their axes lie at right angles to each other, the wall of the socket member nearest the steam supply pipe being provided with an opening with which the condensate outlet opening of the ball member is aligned when said member is rotated to a predetermined position within said socket, a sip-hon pipe having a threaded end adapted to be passed inwardly through said steam supply pipe and through the opening of said socket and into threaded engagement with the condensate outlet opening of the ball member after the latter has been rotated to said predetermined position, a coupling nipple surrounding and projecting outwardly from the condensate inlet opening of said ball member, said socket member being provided with an arouate slot through which said coupling nipple is swingable from a vertical position extending downwardly from the ball member to a horizontal position in which the coupling nipple is directed away from but is in substantial horizontal alignment with the steam supply pipe, the said swinging movement of the coupling nipple being permissible only when the siphon pipe is withdrawn from threaded engagement with the condensate outlet opening of the ball member, and a second siphon pipe having one end secured to said nipple and swingable therewith to either a horizontal or vertical position when the first mentioned siphon pipe is withdrawn from the condensate outlet opening of the ball member.

5. In a siphon assembly as set forth in claim 7 means for rotatably supporting the first mentioned siphon pipe and means for rotating said first mentioned siphon pipe in either direction to effect a corresponding rotation of said collar relative to said steam supply pipe.

6. In a siphon assembly for removing condensate from a steam heated cylinder through an opening at one end of the cylinder, a hollow member provided with a siphon pipe extension and with an opening placing said siphon pipe extension in communication with the interior of said member, a second siphon pipe having one end detachably secured in a second opening provided in said hollow member so that the two pipes are disposed substantially at right angles to each other and a supporting structure in which said hollow member is mounted for turning movement about a horizontal axis, the arrangement being such that said hollow member and the siphon pipe extension thereof are free to turn about said axis when the second mentioned siphon pipe is detached from said hollow member and are prevented from turning about said axis when the second siphon pipe is fitted in the opening provided therefor in said hollow member.

7. A siphon assembly as set forth in claim 11 in which the hollow member is of spherical shape and in which the supporting member therefor includes a spherically shaped socket in which the hollow member is turnably mounted.

RUSSELL CARPENTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,045,634 Cram June 30, 1936 2,056,562 Bridge Oct. 6, 1936 

